• The Woman in White • The Count of Monte Cristo
• War & Peace
• Flight Behavior
• The Mysteries of the Udolpho
• The Whole Golden World
and maybe something else, depending on what I have to return and want to read.

Here was the list that I wanted to work on:
• write 3 reviews and post to blog
• finish linking up reviews by year
• post reviews of books to Goodreads (basically copy and paste reviews of books from blog)
• update "Currently Reading" on sidebar of blog
• update blogger photo
• drop off unwanted books at cafes that have a book exchange
• participate in at least one Bloggiesta chat

And I am happy to say that I did get quite a bit on the list completed. There were some things that while completed didn't get onto the blog, for example I got a few reviews written longhand in a notebook that will likely make its way to my blog in the coming days. I did post reviews to Goodreads, but only got up to the end of 2012, with reviews from 2013 and 2014 still needing to be put up on Goodreads and I probably will update my Goodreads reviews as I post them here. I might decide to actually write my reviews longhand (you know with a pen and on a piece of paper) before I post them up…

After doing quite a bit for Bloggiesta yesterday, today I didn't really do anything. I was a tad run-down due to staying up late and having a fire alarm ring at 4 am (about 2 hours I crawled to bed). I hopefully will get some more things done on my blog tomorrow (Saturday).

What a day. Despite the stuff that I had to do today, I did manage to get a bit done off my Bloggiesta list.

Here is what I got done:
• updated my Book Reviews by Year (and also by Title, as I found out that I had missed a few reviews under that title as well)
• updated my blogger photo
• dropped off a few books at a local cafe and have a few more to drop off tomorrow at another location
• got all of the reviews up to the end of 2011 cross-posted to Goodreads (just copied and pasted) and am hoping to get up to the end of 2012 cross-posted to Goodreads tomorrow

What I want to do tomorrow:
• drop off another bunch of books at another cafe in town
• cross post reviews of books read in 2012 onto Goodreads
• update "Currently Reading" on the sidebar

For the past week, I have been busily reading and have gotten two books off my list, The Interestings and 12 Years a Slave. I have also been reading a number of books off my list and I think that the reading will slow down once I get back to work on Monday and once I get started working on cleaning out my bedroom area, which is starting tomorrow morning. I'll still get some reading in each day, but I think that there will be days in which I don't. I will hopefully provide some links to reviews when I post another update in about a week's time. Happy reading.

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My first selection is:

Mrs. Hemingway: a novel Author: Naomi WoodExpected publication: May 27, 2014 (although its already been published in the UK)

From Amazon.comThe Paris Wife was only the beginning of the story . . .

Paula McLain’s New York Times-bestselling novel piqued readers’ interest about Ernest Hemingway’s romantic life. But Hadley was only one of four women married, in turn, to the legendary writer. Just as T.C. Boyle’s bestseller TheWomen completed the picture begun by Nancy Horan’s Loving Frank, Naomi Wood’s Mrs. Hemingway tells the story of how it was to love, and be loved by, the most famous and dashing writer of his generation. Hadley, Pauline, Martha and Mary: each Mrs. Hemingway thought their love would last forever; each one was wrong.

Told in four parts and based on real love letters and telegrams, Mrs. Hemingway reveal…

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
Originally published April, 2013 On a warm night in early July of that long-evaporated year, the Interestings gathered for the very first time. They were only fifteen, sixteen, and they began to call themselves the name with tentative irony. Julie Jacobson, an outsider and possibly even a freak had been invited in for obscure reasons, and now she sat in a corner on the unswept floor and attempted to position herself so she would appear unobtrusive yet not pathetic, which was a difficult balance.
What do you think? Would you continue?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a fun weekly meme that is hosted
by Shelia at Book Journey, in which we share what we've read and
reviewed and what we plan on reading in the coming week. Books finished this week:
Nothing Books reviewed this week:• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (review) Books I hope to finish this week:
• The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer • 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup Books I am hoping to work on this week:
• HHhH • The Mysteries of the Udolpho • The Ocean at the End of the Lane • Moon over Manifest • The Whole Golden World • The Count of Monte Cristo • War & Peace

Time: 1:41 pm PacificPlace: Not my usual spotListening to: the latest podcast of Hear...Read ThisEating: Just finished having some lunch, so I am a tad full.Watching: Kentucky vs. Wichita St. (March Madness)Reading: Well after this is posted I am planning on going through a pile of books (there are about 6 of them)Making: Nothing at the momentPlanning: What book to start reading after I posted this (although I do know what I do want to read after I post this)Feeling: Like I just want to sit and watch and read and listen for the rest of the afternoon.Loving: That I still have another week of Spring BreakWanting: To get the single "Skyfall" and the album "21" by AdeleThinking: Nothing really at the moment.Looking forward to: Spring Bloggiesta

There are several things that I do need to do on this blog and so this has come around at a time that I really need it.

Here is my to-do-list:
• write 3 reviews and post to blog• finish linking up reviews by year
• post reviews of books to Goodreads (basically copy and paste reviews of books from blog)
• update "Currently Reading" on sidebar of blog• update blogger photo
• drop off unwanted books at cafes that have a book exchange
• participate in at least one Bloggiesta chat

I’ve asked before if you re-read your books (feel free to recap), but
right now I want to know if that habit has changed? Did you, for
example, reread more as a child and your access to new books was limited
by how often you could convince your mother to take you to the library?
Has the economy affected your access so that you’re forced to reread
more often now? Have you grown to look at old books as old friends so
that you’re happy to spend time with them rather than rushing the next
new thing?
Actually I don't re-read a lot of books and only re-read if there is a need to re-read a book (for example a book picked as bookclub read). I think I did re-read more as a child, as I had a few favourites that I would turn to when I didn't have much to read on hand. Since I have access to two really good library systems, I don't feel the need to re-read something.

Description: During an eventful season at Bath, young, naive Catherine Morland experiences fashionable society for the first time. SHe is delighted with her new acquaintances: flirtatious Isabella, who introduces Catherine to the joys of Gothic romances, and sophisticated Henry and Eleanor Tilney, who invite her to their father's house, Northanger Abbey. There, influenced by novels of horror and intrigue, Catherine comes to imagine terrible crimes committed by General Tilney, risking the loss of Henry's affection, and has to learn the difference between fiction and reality, false friends and true. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I first read this book back in November when doing the Unputdownables readalong for this book. And like I said my previous review of this book, this book needed a second re…

Hosted by Musings of a Book Addict
Hosted by Book Dragon's Lair
Here are the books I am planning to read until June 20:
1) The Remains of the Day
2) The Interestings
3) The Mysteries of the Udolpho
4) The Woman in White
5) War & Peace
6) The Whole Golden World
7) HHhH
8) The Count of Monte Cristo
9) Divergent
10) Flight Behavior
11) Moon over Manifest
12) 12 Years a Slave
13) The Ocean at the End of the Ocean
14) Princess Elizabeth's Spy
15) Outlander

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a fun weekly meme that is hosted
by Shelia at Book Journey, in which we share what we've read and
reviewed and what we plan on reading in the coming week.

Books finished this week:• Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson • The Reason that I Jump by Naoki Higahida; translated by KA Yoshida & David Mitchell Books reviewed this week:
None; somehow I felt that it wasn't important and I was also a bit busy; hope to have reviews up sometime this week. Books I hope to finish this week:• The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
• 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
• HHhH by Laurent Binet
• The Whole Golden World
by Kristina RiggleBooks I am hoping to work on this week:
• The Woman in White • The Count of Monte Cristo
• War & Peace
• Flight Behavior
• The Mysteries of the Udolpho

Time: 3:57 pmPlace: In the living roomListening to: The New York Times Book Review: The Empire of Necessity (Jan. 9, 2014)Eating: Nothing at present; still full from my lunch that I had about an hour ago.Watching: Vancouver Canucks vs. Florida Panthers game that was on while I was gone this afternoon.Reading: I am planning on doing my devotions for today (yeah, I'm a bad Christian by not doing my devotions in the morning) and on reading The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer and HHhH by Laurent Binet.Making: NothingPlanning: What shows to watch after I watch the hockey game; probably shows from Tuesday evening.Feeling: Full. Ate some brunch a couple hours before I had lunch (had a quiche; I was at a baby shower this afternoon).Loving: That I don't have to worry about the state of the bookshelves for the next couple of weeks.Wanting: Not to feel this full (I feel uncomfortable if I feel this full at times).Thinking: What I need to do tomorrow.Looking forward to: Seeing the Veronica M…

I had a very good week of finishing and reviewing books, mostly finishing books.

For whatever reason, I was able to just sit down and finish books, but I suppose library books coming due and having to finish up a book for my book club meeting for Saturday helped things along. It just felt good that I was able to complete a few books that needed to be completed. But looking at the list of books I had hoped to at least read this week, it wasn't that great, but I am not getting going to get too hung up on that and I will move forward.

Due to a some late nights the last few days, I am still feeling a tad groggy and have finally started the process of "catching up" on my sleep and feel a little better rested and will probably impact how much I read in the next few days.

Lucy Knisley loves food. The daughter of a chef and a gourmet, this talented young cartoonist comes by her obsession honestly. In her forthright, thoughtful, and funny memoir, Lucy traces key episodes in her life thus far, framed by what she was eating at the time and lessons learned about food, cooking, and life. Each chapter is bookended with an illustrated recipe—many of them treasured family dishes, and a few of them Lucy's original inventions. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I can't recall how I had first heard about the book, but however I was able to hear about the book, I am glad I was able to find out about it. It was a nice break from the heavier reading…

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
Originally published 2009 It was just the two of us, my mother and me, after my father left. He said I should count the new baby he had with his new wife, Marjorie, as part of my family too, plus Richard, Marjorie's son, who was six months younger than me though he was good at all the sports I messed up in. But our family was my mother, Adele, and me, period. I would have counted the hamster, Joe, before including that baby, Chloe.
What did you think? Do you think you would keep reading?

Description: It is 1866, and young Walter Moody has come to make his fortune upon the New Zealand goldfields. On the stormy night of his arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of twelve local men who have met in secret to discuss a series of unexplained events: A wealthy man has vanished, a prostitute has tried to end her life, and an enormous fortune has been discovered in the home of a luckless drunk. Moody is soon drawn into the mystery: a network of fates and fortunes that is as complex and exquisitely ornate as the night sky. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I had a bit of difficulty getting into this book, but I ended up actually enjoying the book. I think if there had been a little bit more editing to the book (the first section should have been cut maybe by about 100 p…

For a month that seemed to be short, there seemed to be a lot packed into it. I am sure that the Olympics taking place during a good portion of the month helped that along (I am still recovering from all that TV viewing, as I had two nights in which I was in bed by around 11 pm and was drifting off to sleep by around 9:30/10 pm; I am usually in bed at around midnight...)

But in addition to immense TV viewing, I also got a lot of reading completed and got two big books off my TBR list. I also started a few more books than finished, but those are still be worked on and I hope to have them completed this month.

I got about 2200 pages read during the month, which is one of the most read months that I have had in quite sometime. I am hoping that March comes somewhat close to what I did last month, but March tends to sometimes be a bit of month in which I tend to get into a more normal reading pattern, but I am hoping that this doesn't happen this time around.

I am starting to feel like I am drowning at the moment due to my TBR pile at the moment and this challenge has come along at the right moment. I hope that it can give me a bit of focus to get my TBR pile down.

It's a fortunate thing that I have a two week break at the end of the month, so I am hoping to get lots of reading completed done when those two weeks come around. It also helps that the Ides of March read-a-thon is taking place from March 13 (midnight your time zone) to midnight on March 17, which will help me to kick off my spring b…